Sept. 20 (UPI) — Wells Fargo said Thursday it plans to reduce its number of employees by 5 percent to 10 percent by 2021 as it speeds up its adoption of self-service technologies.
The company employs about 265,000 people, meaning the staff reduction would affect between 13,250 and 26,500 employees. The employees would be eliminated through normal attrition as well job displacements.
“Wells Fargo takes very seriously any change that involves its team members, and as always, we will be thoughtful and transparent, and treat team members with respect,” CEO Tim Sloan said. “We have robust programs to make impacted team members aware of other job opportunities within Wells Fargo and provide support as they transition to the next phase of their careers. And even as we become more efficient, Wells Fargo will remain one of the largest employers in the United States.”
The news comes after years of trouble for the embattled bank.
In August, the company agreed to pay a $2.09 billion penalty for issuing mortgage loans it was aware contained incorrect income information. And in June, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wells Fargo must pay $5.1 million to settle charges it improperly encouraged retail customers to actively trade market-linked investments, which were intended to be held to maturity.
And in 2016, the bank came under fire for the unauthorized creation of some 3.5 million fake customer accounts.
“We are addressing past issues, enhancing our focus on customers, strengthening risk management and controls, simplifying our organization, and improving the team member experience – all in the spirit of building a better Wells Fargo for our customers,” Sloan said Thursday.
